In a dense forest.
On the lush green grass, a tall figure clad in a stab-resistant suit and helmet was moving quickly in a certain direction through the woods.
Before long, the figure stopped, bent down, and tore some weeds from the ground before stuffing them into a cloth bag.
He wore leather gloves and sturdy boots, and his helmet was tightly secured, with only his eyes and nostrils visible, resembling a knight fully armed from the medieval times.
A short dagger was strapped to his lower back, and his vigilant gaze was constantly sweeping the surroundings.
After a while, a grayish-white stone house gradually appeared ahead.
Surrounding the stone house was a circular wooden fence.
Inside the fence, a muscular man with short hair dressed in camouflage was busy preparing something.
Seeing the approaching figure, the man broke into a habitual smile. “Brother Yu, you’re back again?”
The figure who had stopped outside the fence was none other than Yu Hong, who had recently emerged from the cave.
“I’ve been roaming around nearby for a long time and didn’t find any traces of the Evil Shadow,” Yu Hong replied, his voice deep and resonant.
“The traces of the Evil Shadow disappear under the sunlight after more than three days without a host. Besides, if you discover any hosts of the Evil Shadow, like clothing or items with black fingerprints, you can burn them at high temperatures. But remember, don’t watch from nearby while burning,” Li Runshan explained.
“Why is that?” Yu Hong asked, perplexed.
“Because when burned, the Evil Shadow reappears one last time. If there are any living beings within twenty meters, it can launch an attack. If it kills a new living person, it can begin a new cycle of infection. Many places have had to abandon them entirely because they can't completely eliminate the traces of Evil Shadows, and your nearby town is one such example,” Li Runshan sighed.
“No wonder,” Yu Hong realized. “There are too many dark corners in the town, making it too easy for the traces of the Evil Shadow to hide.”
“Exactly, plus the traces of the Evil Shadow can move by themselves.”
Li Runshan walked over to a pile of charred remains from clothes he had burned earlier and kicked it with his boot.
“This pile even attempted to move toward me before. I was the closest to it. Luckily, I managed to burn it just in time, keeping it from entering. But you need to be careful too; the Evil Shadow is a newly emerged malevolent entity and could have new variations. Much of what we know has been learned through trial and error, often at the cost of lives.”
“So you’re still in contact with the higher-ups?” Yu Hong speculated.
If he wasn't in contact, there was no way Li Runshan could know about the latest Evil Shadow information so easily.
“That’s true. Frankly, I have no reason to conceal this from you.” Li Runshan smiled. “My main task here is to guard the origin point and oversee the glowstone mine while reporting any changes back. Of course, there are advantages; every once in a while, a supply team passes by, bringing me supplies. I also have a newly developed enhanced communicator that allows me to directly contact the postal office.”
Yu Hong nodded.
Without such guarantees, someone like Li Runshan wouldn’t possibly bring a child to such a dangerous place.
“There aren’t many people around either, so it’s a good thing you’re here. Otherwise, we might really have to consider relocating,” he lamented.
“I also need everyone’s help and cooperation, after all. Before coming here, I thought there would still be five or six families, but I didn’t expect only you two families left,” Li Runshan admitted with some helplessness.
“Alright, enough of this. I came to ask you if you could help me send a letter,” Yu Hong said, pulling out a wooden board letter he had prepared earlier.
Since there was no paper, he had to use thin wooden planks instead.
He wrote down the specific situation on his side and tentatively included a piece of ordinary talisman array wooden board at the back.
If the talisman could be sent, it would be for the best.
It might help little Stutter and wouldn’t be a waste.
However, if the talisman got lost midway, he would try a different method next time.
Taking out the wooden board, Yu Hong covered it with a cloth.
There were two pieces of board, glued together with wooden nails.
It looked like a simple thickened structure, but only Yu Hong knew that the thicker board below was actually the talisman board.
The talisman side was sandwiched between the two boards, invisible to outsiders.
“Sending a letter isn’t cheap; I need to wait for the supply team to come before I can send it,” Li Runshan said, stroking his chin as he took the wooden board.
“Can I ask how long until the supply team arrives?” Yu Hong asked quickly.
“The planned schedule is about once a month, but there will definitely be some fluctuations. Since I just settled here, the supply team has promised to arrive within two weeks, so it should be just a few days away,” Li Runshan estimated.
“Can we trade with the supply team?” Yu Hong inquired.
“Of course not. The supply team only trades with postal workers; others don’t qualify,” Li Runshan shook his head.
“Alright then.” Yu Hong felt a bit disappointed but understood.
The postal system here seemed to have a filtering mechanism centered around postal workers.
The postal workers had become the fundamental distributors, holding a large share of the profits.
Looking at it this way, it was no wonder that Li Runshan’s daughter looked so well-fed; there was a reason behind it.
“Well, do you have anything else to discuss? The simple act of sending a letter costs one silver tower ingot. If you don’t have one, it can be replaced with jerky; based on your earlier amount, it would be ten pieces per bag, totaling twelve bags.”
“What!? How much!?” Yu Hong’s eyes widened, thinking he heard wrong.
“Twelve bags,” Li Runshan replied casually, “This is a discounted price; after all, I have to give new customers some advantages. Other places usually charge a standard rate of fifteen bags of jerky.”
Yu Hong was left speechless.
After a long silence, he suddenly remembered the silver ingot he had scavenged from two soldiers earlier.
He rummaged through his clothes and quickly pulled out the ingot. “Silver tower ingot, is this it?” he held the ingot up for Li Runshan to see.
“Ah yes, yes, that’s it! You have it, so that’s great,” Li Runshan nodded eagerly, his face breaking into a smile again.
“Then I’ll use this. By the way, do you have long-distance communicators for sale? I bought a solar generator earlier, which is perfect for charging,” Yu Hong asked again.
“I don’t have any at the moment, but when the supply team arrives, I can ask. Many people want those; at some larger gathering points, vendors like to sell them,” Li Runshan nodded in agreement. “By the way, if you find anyone passing by nearby, you could persuade them to stay and settle. The more people, the easier it is for us to be self-sufficient. Otherwise, everything has to be done alone, and that’s too exhausting.”
“Okay,” Yu Hong nodded.
As he left the stone house of the post office, he glanced back at the window.
A chubby little head peered out, quietly staring at him with curious dark eyes.
“What’s wrong? Why are you staring at him?” Li Runshan walked to the window and ruffled his daughter’s hair.
“That uncle… seems a bit strange,” Ai Senna quietly answered.
“Where’s the strangeness? He’s one of the few normal people left. In these times, encountering a normal person is rare since in many places, people who live alone for too long start acting a bit unusual,” Li Runshan chuckled.
He also looked at Yu Hong, watching as that figure gradually walked further away until he vanished into the depths of the forest before he returned his gaze to his daughter.
“I don’t know, but I just feel that no matter who that uncle looks at, he has a stony sort of feeling,” Ai Senna said, shaking her head, unsure how to describe it.
“Stone?” Li Runshan pondered but couldn’t quite grasp what that feeling was.
“Just… he seems unafraid, with a very solid inner confidence,” the chubby girl Ai Senna frowned and managed to squeeze out another phrase.
“Hmm, now that you mention it, that does sound a bit accurate. At first glance, he seems normal, but compared to others, he’s a bit too normal; he doesn't carry that anxious feeling,” Li Runshan nodded, deep in thought.
“That’s it!” Ai Senna urgently affirmed, nodding her head.
“It’s fine, no matter what kind of person he is, with your dad here, I’ll protect you,” Li Runshan smiled again.
“Dad is the best.” Ai Senna squinted, rubbing her face against his hand.
*
*
*
Yu Hong slowly walked back on his way, having just stopped by to see Doctor Xu Ruoying.
She had recovered significantly and even gifted him a batch of herbal powder she made herself.
In return, he gave her a piece of glowstone as a trade.
With only a few living people left around and the external conditions growing harsher, he genuinely hoped she could keep on living.
On his way back, he soon reached the spot where Ai Fu’s clothes had been.
Holding the silver talisman wooden board in one hand and drawing out his short dagger with the other, he searched the ground thoroughly but found no sign of her clothing.
It was then that he truly believed the traces of the Evil Shadow had been dealt with by Li Runshan.
‘From that person's reaction, he must have dealt with traces of the Evil Shadow before.
He seems quite at ease.
Plus, he dared to bring his daughter here; her name doesn’t sound local, so it’s clear his other half might be foreign.’
Yu Hong speculated in his mind, and the more he thought about it, the more Li Runshan didn’t seem simple.
However, he quickly changed his perspective; no matter how simple or complex the other person was, as long as they posed no threat to him, he had no interest in their affairs.
In fact, the stronger the other party was, the safer they would be.
Before long, he returned to the cave.
Along the way, he didn’t spot any Evil Shadows or even strange phantoms, feeling incredibly peaceful.
Yu Hong closed the door and carefully checked the countdown; there were still more than three days until his leg technique could be strengthened.
Suppressing his expectations, he first drank some water, then ground the glowstone until it became powder, creating glowstone ink before starting to produce new talisman wooden boards.
While the black prints were being strengthened, he also couldn’t afford to be idle.
After crafting a few talisman wooden boards, he got up to cook a pot of protein bar sweet soup, drinking while studying the patterns of the silver talisman.
The silver talisman had clear depth and gradient requirements that far exceeded those of the glowstone talisman, which was why he had yet to reproduce it.
After finishing his meal, the afternoon had arrived before he realized it.
He stood up again and began practicing high body techniques inside the cave.
Two hours of high body training was a rigorous task he had set for himself.
After completing it, he rested for more than half an hour, wiped the sweat off, replenished food, and even allowed himself a short nap; these were all part of his normal routine.
Yet, today, after finishing his training and while wiping off sweat, Yu Hong suddenly froze.
He felt tiny prickles in his abdomen gathering quickly, converging into a new cool sensation in no time.
‘The fourth cool sensation! It’s getting thicker,’ Yu Hong’s heart leapt with joy.
The thicker the coolness, the more confidence he felt.
(End of Chapter)